3Jl 



d 



CONSTITUTION 



OF THE 



State Historical Society. 



CONSTITUTION. 



1. This association shall be styled the Kansas State His- 
torical Society. The object of this Society shall be to col- 
lect, embody, arrange and preserve books, pamphlets, maps, 
charts, manuscripts, papers, paintings, statuary and other 
materials illustrative of the history of Kansas in particular, 
and of the country generally ; to procure from the early pi- 
oneers narratives of the events relative to the early settle- 
ment of Kansas and of the early explorations, the Indian 
occupancy, overland travel and immigration to the terri- 
tory and the West ; to gather all information calculated to 
exhibit faithfully the antiquities and the past and present 
resources and progress of the state, and to take steps to 
promote the study of history by lectures and other avail- 
able means. 

2. This Society shall consist of active, life, honorary and 
corresponding members, who may be chosen by the Board 
of Directors of the Society at any regular or special meet- 
ing, except at their meeting next preceding the annual 
meeting of the Society — the active members to consist of 
citizens of the state, by the payment of two dollars an- 



Fulu> 



nually ; the life members, by the payment at any one time of 
twenty dollars ; tlie honorary and corresponding members, 
who shall be exempt from fee or taxation, shall be chosen 
from persons in any part of the world distinguished for their 
literary or scientific attainments, and known especially as 
friends and promoters of history. Editors and publishers 
of newspapers and periodicals who contribute the regular 
issues of the same to the collections of the Society shall 
be considered as active members of the Society during the 
continuance of such contribution. 

3. There shall be a Board of Directors of the Society, to 
consist of ninety-nine members, who shall be elected from 
among the members of the Society ; or, if any person be 
elected who shall not at the time be a member of the So- 
ciety, he shall become such by payment of the annual 
membership fee of two dollars; and he shall then become 
qualified to act as a member of the Board of Directors upon 
taking the oath of office as such. The members of the 
Board of Directors shall be of three classes, to serve for 
terms of one, two and three years respectively. Any per- 
s jn elected a member of the Board of Directors who shall 
fail to qualify within twenty days after being notified of 
his election shall be deemed to have declined the ofiice, 
and the same shall thereby be considered vacant. Any va- 
cancy in the Board of Directors, or in any office of the So- 
ciety, may be filled by the Executive Committee at any 
meeting subsequent to the occurring thereof. Any number 
not less than five shall constitute a quorum for the trans- 
action of business. No member of the Board of Directors, 
or other officer, except the Secretary, shall receive pay for 
any of the ordinary duties of his office. 

4. The elective officers of the Society shall consist of a 
President and two Vice-Presidents, who shall hold their of- 



D. of D. 

JAH : 1918 



fices for the term of one year, and until their successorB 
shall be chosen ; and a Secretary and a Treasurer, who shall 
hold their offices for the term of two years, and until their 
successors shall be chosen ; said officers to be chosen by 
the Board of Directors from their members, their elec- 
tion to be made at the first meeting of the Board subse- 
quent to the annual meeting of the Society; and their 
terms of office shall begin at the date of their election and 
qualitication in office. And in addition to these elective 
officers, all donations of money or property ( if accepted by 
the Board of Directors) to the amount or value of five hun- 
dred dollars shall constitute the donors life Directors of 
the Society during their natural lives; but such life Di- 
rectors shall never exceed in number the regularly elected 
Directors ; and all moneys from life-directorships or from 
donations or bequests, unless specifically directed otherwise 
by such life Directors, donors, or devisors, shall be invested 
to the best advantage, and the accruing interest only shall 
be used, and shall be employed in such manner, for the 
benefit of the Society, as the Board of Directors may direct. 
5. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held in 
Topeka, on the third Tuesday in January ; and those mem- 
bers, not less than ten. who meet at any annual or special 
meeting of the Society upon the call of the Board of Di- 
rectors shall be a quorum for the transaction of business. 

G. The President, or in his ab3ence one of the Vice- 
Presidents, or in their absence any member of the Society 
selected on the occasion, shall preside at the annual or any 
special meeting of the Society. Such presiding officer 
shall preserve order, regulate the order of proceedings, and 
give a casting vote whenever the same is required. 

7. The Secretary shall preserve a full and correct record 
of the proceedings of all meetings of the Society and Board 



of Directors, to be entered on his book in chronological or- 
der. These records shall always be open for the inspection 
of any member of the Society. He shall conduct the cor- 
respondence of the Society, shall preserve for the Society 
the official communications addressed to him, and keep 
copies of important official letters written by him ; he shall 
collect, or cause to be collected, moneys due to the Society, 
and pay the same to the Treasurer; he shall give. notice of 
the meetings of the Society and of the Board of Directors; 
he shall edit and supervise, under the direction of the Pub- 
lication Committee, the publications of the Society, direct 
the literary exchanges, and shall write out and cause to be 
published, in one or more of the Topeka papers, the pro- 
ceedings, or a synopsis thereof, of the meetings of the So- 
ciety and Board of Directors; he shall have charge of the 
books, manuscripts and other collections of the Society; 
he shall keep a catalog of the same, together with all ad- 
ditions made during his official term; in case of donation, 
he shall specify in his record the name of the book, manu- 
script or article donated, with the name of the donor and 
date of the gift; he shall make an annual report of the con- 
dition of the library, and respond to all calls which may 
be made upon him touching the same, at any annual or 
special meeting of the Society. 

8. The Treasurer shall receive and have charge of all 
dues, and donations and bequests of money, and all funds 
whatsoever of the Society, and shall pay such sums as the 
Board of Directors may from time to time direct, on the 
warrant of the chairman of said Board, countersigned by 
the Secretary; and he shall make an annual report of the 
pecuniary transactions of the Society, and also exhibit a 
statement of the funds and property of the Society in his 
hands, at any stated or special meeting, when thereto re- 
quired. 



9. The Secretary and Treasurer shall give satisfactory 
bonds, in such sums as the Board of Directors may deem 
proper, for the faithful performance of their respective 
duties, and for the faithful preservation of property of 
every kind belonging to the Society; and such bonds shall 
be filed among the papers of the Society. 

10. The President, or in his absence one of the Vice- 
Presidents, shall preside at the meetings of the Board of 
Directors, and in their absence the members present may 
select a chairman from their number to preside, and to 
perform such duties as may be prescribed for him. The 
Directors shall supervise and direct the financial and busi- 
ness concerns of the Society; may augment the library, 
cabinet, and gallery, by purchase or otherwise; may make 
arrangements for a single lecture or a course of lectures, 
for promoting historic knowledge and increasing the pe- 
cuniary resources of the association. They shall have 
power to fill any vacancies occurring in their number. 
They shall audit and adjust all accounts of the Society. 
They may call special meetings when necessary; appoint 
the annual orator; make suitable arrangements for the de- 
livery of the annual address; use their discretion as to the 
publication of any communications, collections, transac- 
tions, annual or other addresses, or other written matters 
of the Society; and they shall annually make a full report 
of their transactions, accompanied by such suggestions as 
may seem to them appropriate and worthy of attention. 
They may appoint an Executive Committee from their own 
number, to perform such duties as may be prescribed for 
such committee. 

11. The Secretary is hereby authorized and directed to 
cause the bills for the annual dues of active members to be 
made out and sent to the address of such members on or 



6 

before the first day of June of each year, with a copy of 
this article, and if the amount of such dues is not paid to 
the Treasurer of this Society on or before the first day of 
December following, of said year, those members in arrears 
shall be deemed to haye forfeited their membership, and 
their names shall be stricken from the roll of members. 
The term of annual membership shall begin from and after 
the third Tuesday in January of each year. 

12. The Board of Directors may adopt by-laws for their 
own government and guidance, not inconsistent with this 
constitution. 

13. This constitution may be amended at any annual 
meeting of the Society : Provided, That the proposed 
amendment shall have been reduced to writing and entered 
on the minutes of the Society at least three months pre- 
vious to a vote being taken on the same : And provided 
also, That a majority of the members present shall concur 
in the adoption of the amendment or amendments pro- 
posed. 

BY-LA^VS. 



1. There is hereby created an Executive Committee of 
the Board of Directors of the Society, to consist of five 
members, to be appointed subsequent to the annual meet- 
ing of the Society, and to hold their office until the next 
annual meeting. 

2. The Executive Committee shall audit all accounts pre- 
sented against the Society, and all warrants drawn on the 
Treasurer shall be upon sworn vouchers approved by a ma- 
jority of the members of the Executive Committee. 

3. The Executive Committee shall examine and audit the 
accounts and vouchers of the Treasurer annually before the 
time of the annual meeting, and at the annual meeting they 
shall make a written report to the Board of Directors. 



4. The Executive Committee shall determine the char- 
acter of the published reports of the Society, aud shall de- 
cide what papers from its transactions and collections the 
biennial report shall contain. 

5. The Executive Committee shall take such action as 
the interests of the Society shall from time to time demand 
in relation to providing and furnishing suitable rooms for 
its collections, and shall consult with the Secretary, and 
with him decide upon the purchasing of books to augment 
the Society's library. 

6. There shall be a Committee on Program and Ad- 
dresses, to consist of five members of the Board ; and it 
shall be the duty of the committee to provide for the ad- 
dresses and proceedings of annual and other meetings, and 
to take such action as may be deemed advisable in refer- 
ence to the delivery from time to time of lectures and 
addresses on historical subjects at the state capital or else- 
where. 

7. There shall be a Committee on Legislation, to consist 
of three or more members of the Society ; and it shall be 
the duty of the committee to confer with the members and 
committees of the legislature, and present for their consid- 
eration and action the matters of legislation which the 
Board of Directors shall recommend. 

b. There shall be a Committee on Nominations, to con- 
sist of five members of the Board; and it shall be the 
duty of the committee, annually, at some time previous to 
the annual meeting of the Society, to make a selection of 
persons whom they deem proper to recommend for mem- 
bers of the Board of Directors, and shall present the same 
for the action of the Society at the annual meeting. 

9. All committees shall be appointed by the President. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 






•fi- 




ii 



016 087 691 8 



